Customer Reviews

To Teach a Dyslexic

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Don McCabe writes a compelling autobiography to illustrate what it is like to grow up dyslexic. He was born in 1932 and this was well before "dyslexia" was a term, let alone a diagnosis. He was just treated as a boy who couldn't sit still. He credits his older sister and wonderful teachers who worked intensively with him to help him learn to read and eventually to become a respected scholar. McCabe has dedicated the last thirty years to working on literacy. This book is a quick, fun read that shows a good dose of humor helps in discussing serious topics such as dyslexia. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed as dyslexic, don't wring your hands in despair - buy this book and learn from someone who knows first hand about what it means to be a dyslexic.

Not only is this book a description of Don McCabe's early years, he also has some fascinating information about the "word families" approach to spelling and reading, made new through his own well-developed sequential spelling strategies!
I can see that the mastery of the language is in learning the patterns of spelling. The sequencing of the words is based on research and the building of English words from the root word to an expanded form.
I really liked the fact that students correct their own papers. Immediate feedback is empowering. A student's confidence is much more significant when they can spell words that they have never seen before without studying!
I am anxious to find out more about his website [...] and check out his text books utilizing the sequential spelling techniques.

Read the 12 sample pages at Amazon.com. A distinguished educator speaks of his own dyslexia and his gratitude for a loving family, high expectations, and no official disability label. The author was in elementary and high school before they had the label of dyslexic. There were plenty of kids who needed help and got help. Therapy was just active play. Early educational intervention was just playing school. Teachers taught learning (memory) strategies to all students in k-12. He offers many practical ideas for improving literacy.

I've always been a little dyslexic, esp when I'm tired, nervous or in a hurry. Now I'm teaching a 10 year old who we suspected was dyslexic. She just couldn't remember things correctly and we were all getting frustrated. People thought it was laziness, and sometimes it was. When she was honestly trying and still not retaining information and connecting those neurons, I knew there was a problem. I just happened to see this book and though it wouldn't hurt to read it.

WHAT A GOD SEND! Written by a dyslexic, this book kept me laughing out loud, even when I was by myself. The stories were so typical of my ditsy student who is so smart in her own way. He has a list of 14 symptoms a dyslexic may or may not have. I have 5 of them, and my student has 12. I contacted the AVKO foundation (Don McCabe's organization) and ordered a spelling course for her. She's not far into it, but it really has helped her reading even over the summer!

If you have a child or loved one (adults are totally going to benefit from this too!) who struggles in the three "R"s, this makes sense. I have an education degree, and I wondered why I didn't remember learning how to teach certain things my student was struggling with. It's pointed out in this book - it's not taught! Most brains pick it up automatically, the dyslexic cannot. This really makes a lot of sense. Please give it a try, you'll be glad you did!

For the lay person, this is an interesting view point to read and perhaps get a sense of the frustration that is felt by my people with learning disabilities. However, as some who is dyslexic and also a teacher, there are significant things missing from McCabe's perspective. While I certainly understand his anger at educational "experts" he seems to operate under the assumption that he is the only one who has ever experienced his circumstances or has ever thought of the things he's promoting, which is an incorrect portrayl of the history of LD education. I was entertained at times, offended at others. Overall, there are more relavent books out there.